SB FINANCIAL GROUP (SBFG)·Q4 2025 Earnings Summary
SB Financial Posts Record Year: EPS Up 27% as Loan Growth Accelerates
January 30, 2026 · by Fintool AI Agent
SB Financial Group (SBFG) reported Q4 2025 earnings that beat estimates, capping its second-best earnings year in two decades. Diluted EPS of $0.63 exceeded the $0.62 consensus by 9.7%, marking the company's 60th consecutive quarter of profitability . Full-year EPS of $2.19 surged 27% versus 2024's $1.72, driven equally by balance sheet expansion and wider margins .
Despite the beat, shares fell 5.6% to $21.32 as management guided for 5-7 basis points of net interest margin compression in 2026 due to competitive deposit pricing pressures .
Did SB Financial Beat Earnings?
Yes—both on the top and bottom line, continuing a strong beat streak.
Key drivers of the beat:
- Net interest income surged 17% YoY to $12.7M on loan growth and portfolio repricing
- Loan growth of $70M (25% annualized) added to 7 consecutive quarters of sequential increases
- NIM expanded to 3.51% from 3.22% in Q4 2024, adding ~$4M to annual NII
Ask Fintool AI AgentWhat Changed From Last Quarter?
The sequential trends remain healthy—NII grew 3.1% linked-quarter, loan growth continued, and credit quality improved .
How Did the Stock React?
Down 5.6% to $21.32 from $22.58, despite the earnings beat.
The market appears concerned about:
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Margin guidance: Management expects NIM to decline 5-7 basis points by this time next year due to higher funding costs and competitive deposit pricing
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Deposit pressure: CFO Tony Cosentino noted increased requests from clients for rate matching and "something in the mail" causing repricing discussions
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Mortgage headwinds persist: Originations of $72.4M were down YoY, and full-year volume of $278M missed budget by 28%
What Did Management Guide?
Management provided qualitative guidance for 2026:
CEO Mark Klein set an ambitious target: $15 million net income for 2026, implying ~7% growth from 2025's ~$14M .
Ask Fintool AI AgentKey Management Quotes
On the year:
"For the full year, our GAAP EPS of $2.19 represents the second-highest per-share earnings performance in the last 20 years, and a 27% lift over our 2024 EPS of $1.72." — Mark Klein, Chairman, President & CEO
On deposits being the 2026 focus:
"The word of the year for 2026 for us and maybe many other banks is deposits... the only way we're going to be making loans at the margin and greater is to fund it with progressively lower deposit yield." — Mark Klein
On market consolidation opportunity:
"We've launched a strategy to seize upon that disruption... we're about $80 million of incremental additional business on a goal of $500 million." — Mark Klein
Loan and Deposit Growth: The Core Story
SB Financial's growth engine continued firing on all cylinders:
Geographic drivers:
- Columbus market: $73M in commercial lending activity in 2025
- Marblehead acquisition: Fully integrated, adding ~2,500 deposit accounts at 1.35% weighted average cost
- De novo markets: Napoleon, OH and Angola, IN contributed ~$15M in Q4 loan growth
- Fort Wayne expansion: New commercial lender added for this "growth market"
Credit Quality Remains Strong
Management noted some credit workouts are taking longer than expected but emphasized no new problem credits are emerging—it's resolution timing, not deterioration .
Capital Return
- Dividend: $0.155/share quarterly (2.8% yield, 25% payout ratio)
- 13th consecutive year of dividend increases
- Share buybacks: 283,000 shares repurchased in 2025 for $5.5M at avg. $19.36/share (40% of earnings)
- Tangible book value: $18/share, up 12.5% YoY
Q&A Highlights
On loan repricing tailwind (Steve Walz, Chief Lending Officer):
- $125-140M of loans contractually set to reprice in first 9 months of 2026
- Pricing at ~300 bps over 3-5 year treasuries
- Strong retention as spreads are "appropriate to market"
On expense discipline (Tony Cosentino, CFO):
- Targeting 3.5-4% expense growth in 2026
- Positive operating leverage of 1.5-2x expected
On mortgage outlook:
- Targeting $310-330M volume in 2026 (+10-15%)
- Looking to add 4-5 mortgage lenders in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and NW Ohio
- Back office built for $400M+ capacity
Ask Fintool AI AgentHistorical EPS Performance
Values retrieved from S&P Global
SBFG has beaten EPS estimates in 7 of the last 8 quarters, with only Q4 2024 showing a slight miss.
Forward Catalysts
- Marblehead cross-sell: Now integrated, management sees opportunity for commercial participation
- Columbus momentum: Model being replicated to other 6 markets in 2026
- Consolidation playbook: $80M captured so far on $500M opportunity from competitor disruption
- Advisory Alpha partnership: New wealth management capabilities launching 2026
- Agricultural lending: New lender delivered $19M (20%) portfolio growth with $3M deposits
Risks and Concerns
- NIM compression: 5-7 bps guided decline in 2026 from deposit competition
- Mortgage dependency: Volume missed budget by 28% in 2025; rate-sensitive
- Geographic concentration: Heavy Columbus weighting; other markets need to contribute
- Credit resolution timing: Workouts taking longer than expected
- Small cap illiquidity: $135M market cap, thin trading volume